Epiphanies
by quicksilversquared
Summary: Alya's attempts at figuring out the secret identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir are putting the heroes at risk. Marinette's crush on Adrien is keeping her from discovering who he really is. Sometimes, you need an epiphany to push you in the right direction.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: This story is a series of one-shots that sorta-kinda can go together. Generally the ideas come out of whoever I want to slap some sense into on the show. I did a whole lot of editing/rewriting recently (September 2016), so if parts of the story seem the same but other parts are wildly different...yeah, that's why. I'm leaving this marked as incomplete for the time being since I get the feeling that I'll probably get more ideas during seasons 2 and 3 (and hopefully beyond), but I really will only be updating when I get ideas I like._

* * *

Ladybug and Chat Noir didn't even pause for their traditional fist-bump as their Miraculous beeped out a frantic warning. The reporters were too close, and they needed to get away before their time was up.

"This _following us_ thing needs to stop," Chat Noir gasped, clinging to Ladybug as she swung them up onto the nearest rooftop. He glanced behind them as they shot up into the air. "Oh god, they're following us. And the Ladyblogger is leading the charge."

"Split up or stay together?" Ladybug asked as their feet hit the roof and they started running.

"Together. We can pretend to be a couple caught in a closet if all else fails." Chat Noir grimaced at how that came out. Who was he to say if Ladybug would actually be willing to go along with that? They would find out each other's identities if they did that, and he knew perfectly well what Ladybug's feeling were about that. Still, if she was forced to choose between him finding out her identity and the whole world finding it out, he was 99.99% certain that she would rather have just him find out. "Granted, if it gets in the news my friends would never believe- I mean-"

Ladybug laughed a bit breathlessly as they leapt in unison over a street. They could still hear the shouts of the reporters intent on following them. "You mean you aren't normally found with cute girls in secluded closets?

" _Hah._ No."

They somersaulted through a window of the Grand Paris and into a dark hotel room. They had just landed and checked to make sure the room was actually empty and there weren't any reporters in the shadows when Ladybug's transformation released in a flash of sparkly pink light. Chat Noir spun away respectfully, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Go ahead," Chat Noir said as he faced the wall. "Just make sure the hall is clear, I know the owner's daughter and she would make a _huge_ fuss if someone strange was in the hotel."

Much to Chat Noir's disappointment, Ladybug didn't come back with a tart " _Are you calling me_ strange _?"_ She simply made a quiet noise of acknowledgement. Her footsteps padded quietly towards the door. It opened with a small squeak- _Mr. Bourgeois wouldn't be happy about that_ \- and shut a moment later with a small thud and a click. His own transformation released moments later and he exited a full thirty seconds later to a mercifully empty hallway.

Their secret identities were still intact.

For now.

* * *

Marinette really had to do something.

For the last few fights, Alya and the other reporters had been practically hounding her and Chat Noir at the end of each fight, following the superhero duo far too close for comfort as they tried to get away to release their transformations. Chat Noir had had to distract Alya several times in order to let Ladybug get away when he had more time left. Several times, too-eager reporters tried to get too close before the fight ended, putting themselves in danger. This couldn't go on forever. It was exhausting, and Ladybug and Chat Noir wouldn't be able to get away every time. The last time had been cutting it far too close.

And much to the superheroes' annoyance, the reporters showed no sign of stopping.

"Don't you think that there might be a reason why Ladybug and Chat Noir hide their identities?" Marinette spoke up as soon as Alya paused partway through a breathless rendition of the most recent fight. "They go out of their way to leave before turning back to their normal selves."

Alya waved a dismissive hand as Nino and Adrien turned around to follow the conversation. "They're just being humble. Maybe they just don't want fans following them in their day-to-day lives." Nino nodded in agreement.

"I feel like it might be important to respect that, though," Marinette argued. "They risk their lives to save Paris almost weekly, don't they deserve a bit of peace and quiet when they aren't fighting?" Before Alya could say anything, she pulled out her best argument. "And don't you think that it would be dangerous for them if people knew who they were? Supervillains could attack them while they're sleeping at night or Hawkmoth might attack them directly."

Alya froze, her mouth open. The finger that had been hovering mid-air, ready to protest, dropped into her lap. Her shoulders drooped sadly, and Marinette could tell that she had gotten her point across.

"That…. is a good point." From the look on Alya's face, it was easy to tell that she had never considered the (very obvious, in Marinette's mind) danger that would come from people knowing who the superheroes were in real life. But then she perked up. "What if I found out and just _didn't_ post it? It wouldn't hurt, right?"

Marinette frowned. _Really? Couldn't Alya just drop it?_ She probably shouldn't have been surprised, considering that Alya could be as stubborn as a bulldog protecting a prized bone when it came to juicy superhero-related scoops, but she wasn't sure how much more she could say before she started to look suspicious.

"You'd still be making Ladybug and Chat Noir uncomfortable by following them when they don't want to be followed," Marinette blurted out before almost slapping her hand over her mouth. She wasn't supposed to know how the superheroes felt! _Say something else, anything else, keep Alya from connecting the dots!_ "And you would still be in danger, I think. What would happen if Hawkmoth suspected that you knew who Ladybug is? He'd probably find akumas to target you and get the information anyway. And I don't think anybody knows for sure whether or not Hawkmoth can akumatize people more than once."

Alya's expression fell again. Marinette felt horrible for crushing her best friend's dreams like this, but it really was for the greater good. Alya would doubtless feel even worse if she found out that Marinette was Ladybug and that information got Marinette injured or killed.

"I think Marinette's right," Adrien spoke up. She glanced over at him and he was smiling at her. Her heart skipped a beat. _Smiles like that should be outlawed_. "I mean, Hawkmoth might target their friends and family if he knew who Ladybug and Chat Noir are. Even if just a few people knew, who knows? It might accidentally slip out somehow, especially if one of them is in danger of getting hurt during a fight."

Alya looked completely tearful now. "I can't believe I never thought of that! I wanted to be one of their biggest fans, not put them in danger!"

The expression on Adrien's face immediately melted into concern. "I'm sure they understand that, Alya," he assured her hastily. "They'd probably appreciate it more if you were just documenting them, though, not trying to out them."

"I….. I suppose," Alya sighed. She looked absolutely miserable. "I've just been hoping to figure out who they are for so long! And the other reporters are still going to chase after them, and the Ladyblog will lose traffic because people want to know and-"

"People visit the Ladyblog to see your videos and photos, Alya," Marinette said before Alya could really get going. "Sure, they look at your theories and whatnot but I really don't think that's the _main_ attraction."

Alya looked uncertain. "But it's something that other news sources don't have! News stations have video too, and a lot of them have Ladybug and Chat Noir-specific archives that people can look through. And they have places to leave comments, which the Ladyblog doesn't have."

"Do you know how to add the ability to comment?" Marinette asked, all too happy to divert the conversation even just a bit. "I feel like that would require a lot of coding, since people would need accounts to comment, right?"

"It's actually not that hard. I looked into it when I first started the Ladyblog, but there was just so much else going on at the time that I felt like adding a comments section would just be too much work all at once." Alya grimaced. "And then the Ladyblog crashed after I fiddled with it too much one time, so I decided to just leave it as-is for now."

Marinette blinked. "The Ladyblog crashed?"

"It was a while ago, but yeah." Alya winced at the memory. "I was trying to add some coding to my page and inserted it in the wrong place. The whole site was a mess until Max came over and helped me figure out where I had gone wrong. It was a stupid error, really. I've taken a couple coding classes since so I don't do that again."

"So you can add comments now, then!"

Alya's face fell again. "I just don't know if _comments_ are enough to make up for me dropping my search to figure out who Ladybug and Chat Noir are. That'll just make me like every other Ladybug archive out there, and it'll put me _behind_ the reporters that are trying to figure it out."

"Except you have original footage," Marinette pointed out.

"News sites sometimes post it, too, especially if I was closer than they were." Alya let out a frustrated breath. "I just don't know what else I can do to stick out! Finding out who is behind Ladybug's mask is so much part of what the Ladyblog is! I don't want it to flop and for me to just totally drop off the reporting radar because I'm not trying to figure out who Ladybug is!"

"Alya, you _know_ I want your blog to succeed," Marinette said, trying her best not to sound _too_ desperate. "I just don't think that, uh, you know-"

"That throwing Ladybug and Chat Noir under the bus in the process is the best way to do it?" Nino suggested. Marinette sent him a glare.

"I wasn't going to say it like _that_."

"But the intent is there."

"I'm not _throwing them under the bus!_ " Alya protested. "I mean, it would be the scoop of the century and all, but even I can admit that Marinette has a point. I'll stop trying to unmask them. I'm just worried about the future of the Ladyblog."

"I still don't think you have that much to worry about," Marinette muttered. The Ladyblog had gotten its followers after Alya provided footage, not after anyone had been revealed.

Nino raised his hand. "I have an idea for something else you can add! I know that on some band sites I visit, they show a Twitter feed on the side with tweets that have their hashtag. I don't think a lot of news sites have that on their Ladybug archives."

"You could have feeds for both the Ladybug and Chat Noir hashtags," Marinette suggested, pouncing on the idea. "News sites _definitely_ don't have both."

"I feel like that's a bit redundant, though," Alya said, frowning. "I mean, I'll check to see for sure before saying no for sure but aren't they pretty much always seen together?"

Marinette shrugged with a sheepish look. "I've never checked."

Alya gave her a light shove, laughing. "I know you haven't! It's like pulling teeth just trying to get you to read the Ladyblog sometimes!"

Marinette pouted, about to protest, when Miss Bustier walked into the room. The class quieted down quickly. Out of the corner of her eye, Marinette saw Alya pull out a piece of paper and start to draft what looked like a letter to go on the Ladyblog.

As the class started, Marinette let herself smile. She and Chat Noir wouldn't have to evade Alya after fights now, and she could only hope that the other reporters would follow suit. Maybe she and her partner could do an exclusive interview with Alya after she posted the letter she was currently drafting as a sort of reward to the Ladyblogger and as a way to encourage the other reporters to back off. Besides, then Ladybug could use that same excuse without looking suspicious when she decided to favor the Ladyblog with exclusive interviews in the future.

It wouldn't fix all of the problems she had, but it was a start.

* * *

That night, Alya sat at her computer, typing and re-tying the letter she had written for her blog. She had put this moment off as long as she could (homework for tomorrow, the next night, and the next week had all come first, as had adding the coding for comments to the Ladyblog, followed by searching the internet for codes she could use to pull off the other ideas she had, followed by editing and re-editing her letter until she could find no more wrongs to right), but there was no more avoiding it. Now that it was nearing two o'clock in the morning, she had to upload the post she had finally settled on to announce the end to her quest to unmask Ladybug.

She could only hope that it wouldn't result in her blog tanking overnight.

Taking a deep breath, Alya read over her post one more time. Her mouse hovered over the buttons at the bottom of the screen, ready to post it as soon as she worked up the nerve.

 _Dear followers of the Ladyblog:_

 _First off, I want to thank everyone for their continued support of Paris' favorite superheroes! It means a lot to me that you would follow my blog, and I'm sure Ladybug and Chat Noir appreciate it as well! However, I do have some news that may disappoint some of you._

 _As of right now, I'm no longer going to be trying to figure out who Ladybug and Chat Noir are._

 _I didn't realize until earlier today how much I, and the other reporters in the city, have been making our superhero duo very uncomfortable when we follow them at the end of a fight. I thought that their desire to stay anonymous was entirely out of humbleness, and didn't consider any other possibilities. I was very wrong to do so, and not just because my attempts to follow them were putting them at risk of de-transforming while they were trying to escape reporters, which in itself is very dangerous considering that they are jumping across rooftops._

 _If nothing else, they deserve to be able to live a normal life when not behind the mask. And, more importantly, as one of my dear friends pointed out to me,_ _unmasking Ladybug and Chat Noir could actually put them at risk of being killed_ _. If Hawk Moth knew who they were, he could attack them in their sleep and even kill them. Even if you knew and didn't tell anyone, you could be akumatized or be targeted by an akuma- and believe me, that's no fun! So, for the sake of the safety of our beloved superheroes, I will no longer be trying to figure out who they are and I ask that all of you do the same._

 _Don't worry- I will still be posting exclusive coverage of the fights and hope to add some new sections to the Ladyblog in the near future so that it can remain your best Ladyblog news source!_

 _Thanks,_

 _Alya._

This was it. The post that could send everything she had been working for down the drain. Her cursor hovered over the _Post_ button, but her eyes slid over to the _Delete_ button right next to it. Her traitorous brain whispered to her.

 _Do you really need to post this now? Why not later? Put it off, keep your followers and your traffic for just a bit longer, does it really hurt anyone if you don't post it for another day or another week_ …

It was inevitable, Alya knew that. Her followers would notice the minute that she just let Ladybug and Chat Noir leave without following them. It would be better to make the post before and not after the next akuma attack that she filmed, but there was no way of predicting when that would be. It could be the next day, or not until later in the week. If she was really unlucky ( _or lucky_ , her brain whispered), she might miss an attack or two because of school and there wouldn't be any video evidence that she had abandoned her quest to find out who the superheroes were.

Still, if she missed too many attacks, Alya knew full well that there were plenty of other Ladybug blogs that would be all too happy to fill in the sudden gap in coverage. They hadn't been as quick on the uptake as Alya herself had been and their 'reporters' weren't as daring as Alya, which accounted for at least part of the disparity in popularity, but she had noticed several of them joining in the chase after Ladybug and Chat Noir after fights were over.

(She had also noticed some reposting of some of her Ladybug articles, especially as of late. She'd have to look up the rules about copying blog posts to see if she could get those taken down. Plagiarism wasn't _real_ reporting.)

This was the same dilemma that had plagued Alya all day, that had made her appear indecisive and insensitive to Ladybug and Chat Noir's safety, that had made Nino accuse her of _throwing Ladybug and Chat Noir under the bus_ just to further her own journalism career. Alya knew full well that she had to do what was right.

Besides, all of her friends had looked over her letter and been positive that it would persuade the Ladyblog's followers that she was doing the right thing.

 _If they can't respect your reasoning, they were never really fans of Ladybug and Chat Noir,_ Adrien had assured her. _It's their loss, not yours._

As Alya battled her inner demon ( _you can do this tomorrow, or maybe the next day, or the day after that…)_ , her phone chimed. A text popped up on the screen.

 _Just post it already, silly! I'm sure it'll be fine_ \- _Marinette_

Alya snorted. Of _course_ her friend would have stayed up to check the Ladyblog. She probably had picked up on how reluctant Alya was to actually post anything. Alya wouldn't be surprised if Marinette had been planning on keeping an eye on the comments as well, planning on shooting down anyone who dared to protest. It was such a _Marinette_ thing to do.

Uncertainty momentarily banished, Alya hit the _Submit_ button. She waited until the screen came up confirming that her post had been made before picking her phone back up and texting Marinette back.

 _Just posted!_ _Go to bed already!_

Alya shut down her computer as she waited for a response from Marinette. Part of her wanted to stay up all night and watch as the comments came in, just so she could respond to any negative comments, but the other part knew that there was no point. Most of Paris was asleep right now, after all.

She had to stay positive. Most of her followers- most of _Paris_ , really- wouldn't want to put their beloved superheroes at risk. Maybe her follower count would drop a little bit, but the Ladyblog would still survive and push on. She was planning some pretty neat additions to the Ladyblog, after all. If a couple of her followers left, it was their loss.

 _Besides_ , Alya thought to herself as she slipped into bed and turned off the lights. _Who knows? Maybe someday after Hawkmoth is defeated, Ladybug and Chat Noir will trust me enough to tell me who they really are._

 _It doesn't hurt to hope, right?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note: This also underwent some editing just to bring it up to be more canon-compliant. Other than that, most everything stayed the same._

 _And just to reiterate: This will only be updating when I get ideas. There isn't really an overarching storyline beyond "people figuring things out/the author reaching through the screen and shaking sense into the ML characters._

* * *

 _Do you love him, or the thought of him?_

Bridgette's question stayed in Marinette's mind long after her older cousin had boarded the plane back to China. Her cousin had been serious for once as she stared Marinette down, forcing her to re-think her whole attitude towards her crush.

It hadn't taken long for the older girl to notice Marinette's pictures of Adrien once she arrive, and at first she had been excited. _I didn't know you had a boyfriend! He's cute!_ Within seconds, though, her brow had furrowed. _Wait. Are these modelling photos? He's a model, not your boyfriend? You have a celebrity crush? I never thought you were the type to crush on someone you don't know._

 _I know him in real life,_ Marinette had protested. _He's in my class, and he's really nice to everyone._

Bridgette had frowned even more at that. _Is that all you know about him? That he's nice?_

Marinette had rattled off the other things she knew about him- that he modeled for his father's company, that he played piano and was learning Chinese, that he was top of their class in Physics, that he used to play basketball but had dropped it for fencing, that he was allergic to pigeon feathers, and he didn't have the best relationship with his father. That this year was the first year he had been to public school, and that he hadn't had any friends besides Chloe before this year- and did Chloe really count? Since Adrien had started school, he had seemed to quickly drift away from his former friend.

 _Those could practically all be from a website,_ Bridgette pointed out. _And a lot of them sound like activities that were planned for him, not ones that he chose. Mari, it just sounds a lot like a celebrity crush- and the fact that he's in your class makes that a bit creepy. What if he came over for a project and saw his face plastered all over?_

Marinette had protested against the _celebrity crush_ bit- after all, she hadn't liked him at all when she first met him, after the gum misunderstanding. It was only after he explained to her what had really happened that she had fallen for him.

Still, Bridgette _might_ have had a point about the activities and photos.

Marinette stared at her wall for what had to be the hundredth time. Adrien's face wasn't plastered _all_ over. That was a bit of an exaggeration. It was only really in the corner where she did her homework and designing, and the only thing that would really catch anyone's eye from across the room was her framed picture of him.

"And your computer desktop," Tikki pointed out as she watched Marinette think. "If you need to do any work on your computer while he's here..."

Marinette turned to the computer and winced. She had made the picture a while back and she had to admit that she would _die_ of mortification if Adrien saw it. Some of the pictures of him were pretty old, from when he was thirteen or a young fourteen. He was fifteen now and was going to turn sixteen pretty soon. She had been planning on updating it with more recent pictures, but she had been so busy between her schoolwork and Ladybug stuff that she hadn't gotten around to it.

And okay, yeah, that could definitely come across as weird, especially with the cringe-worthy hearts curling their way across the screen and around the pictures of Adrien. That definitely had to go.

Marinette strode over to the computer and clicked her way to her background settings, spending a few minutes pouring over the pictures on her computer to find one to replace the pictures of Adrien.

"You could use one from the Ladyblog," Tikki suggested, hovering over Marinette's shoulder. "There's a lot of good pictures on there."

"But Tikki! Alya might suspect that I'm Ladybug if I do that!" Marinette protested. She clicked her way to the Ladyblog anyway, since she didn't have any other ideas. Tikki had never led her wrong before, after all.

Tikki shook her head. "I think that it would throw her off your trail! A lot of people like Ladybug and Chat Noir, and people will think it's odd if you _aren't_ at least a little bit interested in them!"

"That's true, but I don't want Alya to start trying to drag me with her when she goes to record the fights!" She had a hard enough time dissuading Alya as it was. Her best friend was nothing if not persistent.

"Maybe you can just have that photo up while you try to find a different picture." Tikki knocked Marinette's hand off the mouse and started navigating through the archives, trying to find a good shot. "If you had a picture with you and Alya and Nino with Adrien, then that wouldn't be weird to have as a background for your computer!"

"But I don't have a picture like that!" Marinette complained. And what would she even look like in a picture like that? Probably all flustered because of being close to Adrien, and then he would wonder why she would choose such a bad picture of herself, and then he would figure out her crush, if he hadn't already...

"I'm sure Alya could arrange it if you asked nicely." Tikki clicked on one of the pictures on the Ladyblog. It popped up to full-size. "Here! This one!"

The picture she had chosen was of Chat and Ladybug in front of the Eiffel Tower, bumping fists as they celebrated yet another akuma beaten. The tower was lit up in the evening lights, with an absolutely gorgeous sunset in the background. Best yet, the picture was in high definition and was very clear, meaning that it wouldn't blur on Marinette's large computer screen.

"That one is great, Tikki! Thanks!" A few clicks later and her computer desktop looked very different. She made a mental note to delete the file with her old computer background later. Destroying the evidence and all that. "And I think I'll put away the framed picture of Adrien, too. I'll think about taking down the other pictures of Adrien later."

As Marinette tried to find a good place to put the framed picture, the other things her cousin had said kept playing in her head.

 _A lot of people, especially people from famous families that have to uphold a certain image, don't act the same in public as they do when alone. I've met a lot of people that were absolute darlings in the public eye, but once you hung out with them in private and got to know them- ugh! Totally different person! I'm not saying that Adrien is a bad person behind his public face, but I wouldn't be surprised if what you see in class is probably a very restrained version of his real self._

 _But he's so nice to people,_ Marinette had argued. _He's so genuine! He can't possibly be faking that level of kindness!_

Bridgette just shook her head. _He might truly be really nice. I'm not arguing about that. But you can't fall in love with someone just because they're_ nice _\- what about the rest of his personality? Maybe he's normally really sarcastic. Maybe he loves puns. Maybe he has some really bad habits that you could never live with, like snapping his gum, or chewing with his mouth open, or-_ Bridgette leaned in close, like she was about to say something truly scandalous- _maybe he leaves the toilet seat up!_

They had both gasped in mock shock and giggled. Bridgette had been serious, though, and Marinette kept thinking about her words. Alya had once made a similar comment, observing that Adrien seemed so _restrained_ in everything at school- in his smiles, in his participation in class, in his pushing Chloe away. He had a mild personality, it seemed.

Bridgette had laughed when Marinette mentioned it. _And you're a fireball, Marinette. How exactly is that supposed to work? I suppose opposites do attract- but do they stay together?_

The thought that she might end up not liking Adrien romantically after all of the embarrassment she had put herself through because of her crush put Marinette on edge. _You can be attracted by kindness, Marinette, but believe me, it takes a lot more than that for a relationship to work!_

Bridgette would know. She had just finished college and had gone on a number of dates with 'perfectly fine' guys from her classes. None had stuck for more than a couple of months, and most were booted after the first date. They had been drawn to Bridgette by her fiery personality, but there had been no chemistry besides 'just friends'.

Marinette had never worked with Adrien in any group projects, so she hadn't had that chance to get to know him better. Alya only had been in a group with him once, and her only comment was that Adrien had vanished mysteriously partway through when he had gone to get books, and never returned. Nino hadn't considered that strange, apparently. But she really _didn't_ know that much about him.

"I do think your crush is real, if that helps any," Tikki spoke up, sensing Marinette's distress. "You care about him, right? You get sad when he's sad, and you didn't tell him about the scarf because you wanted him to be happy."

"Yeah, but it would be the same if any of my other friends were sad or even any of my other classmates! I just don't like seeing people upset," Marinette sighed. She shoved the framed photo still in her hand into the huge trunk of fabric sitting by her window. She'd find a better spot later.

"Maybe you have a crush on Adrien, but aren't 'in love'?" Tikki suggested, floating after Marinette as she headed back to the area near her desk. "Would that help you be less nervous around him?"

"Maybe. Who knows." Marinette sighed and started fiddling with one of the pictures of Adrien she had up on the wall. Maybe she should take them all down and stick them in her diary box or something until she had figured her feelings out.

 _Don't put him up on a pedestal, Marinette. That's just setting yourself up for disappointment. No one is perfect. If a person seems perfect, you haven't gotten to know them enough._

She sure hadn't put him up on a pedestal at first. Marinette remembered perfectly well how annoyed she was that another friend of _Chloe's_ was going to be in their class. She had been positive that he would be just another blond menace, someone else to annoy and bully her during the school hours. She wasn't interested in rich blond models, that was for sure. It hadn't taken her long to figure out that that wasn't the case at all, but how much had she really learned about Adrien since?

Another picture came down.

Her feelings for Adrien went beyond a celebrity crush, of that Marinette was certain. She _thought_ they went beyond that of a simple crush on a classmate as well, but really, how was she supposed to know for sure? Maybe they _could_ end up together, once they knew each other better. She was probably being totally unreasonable in thinking that Adrien could possibly return any of her feelings without ever having had a proper conversation with her.

 _When famous people decide to date, they want to date a friend, not a random person. Even if that person is a classmate. They want to date someone they know._

She could relate to that just a bit, since she was Ladybug. There were a lot of people in Paris who thought that they were in love with Ladybug, despite having never had a conversation with her before, or even never having met her in person. Some were significantly older than she was. She'd _never_ date someone as Ladybug, simply because they wouldn't _really_ know her.

Somehow, she had never thought that the same might be true with Adrien. But it made sense, since he definitely had more than a few fangirls. Quite a few of them probably were interested in dating him, yet he had shown any interest in dating any of them? How was she really all that different from all of the other girls vying for his affection?

Another picture came down.

"Are you all right, Marinette?" Tikki asked in concern, watching as her girl took down all of her Adrien photos. Marinette paused over Adrien's Valentine's Day letter before that came down, too, tucked into the bottom of her diary box.

"Bridgette was right, Tikki," Marinette said slowly, using her thumb to rub out the marks where the pictures had hung. "I need to take a step back and really see _Adrien_ , not just some idealized version of him. Then maybe I can get to know him better!"

"I don't know if it will be that easy," Tikki commented. She flew over in front of Marinette and perched on her computer screen, watching as Marinette surveyed her newly-bare walls . "You've been in love with him for a while. It'll be hard to change your behavior overnight."

"I have to _try_. See if I can treat him like a normal person for a while. Bree was right, I think- he'd want to date a friend, not someone he barely knows and who barely knows him." Marinette's expression had turned stubborn. " I know things _about_ him, but I don't know _him._ I want to fix that."

Tikki got excited at that. Her girl was really making progress! She had been worried that Marinette was going to let go of her crush completely, which would be bad since Adrien as Chat Noir liked Marinette as Ladybug and the last thing Tikki wanted to see was two superheroes going from a love square to unrequited love. It was _much_ less amusing to watch, in her opinion. Maybe Marinette could even take enough of a step back that she could see the similarities between Chat Noir and Adrien. It would certainly make things easier once they figured out each other's' identities if Marinette didn't immediately go lovestruck. "That's great news, Marinette! Don't get discouraged if you can't keep from getting tongue-tied around him right away! You've had a crush on him for a while!"

Marinette smiled at her kwami. "I can try, though! And I know I've been trying to talk to him before, but a lot of the time it seems like I have _confessing_ in mind and that makes me nervous and then I start to babble and-"

"-and then you go uhh, buh, aah!" Tikki giggled, making faces and sticking out her tongue. Marinette scowled playfully at the kwami.

"I'm working on it!" Marinette protested. They both broke out into giggles before Marinette continued. "And I need to stop going to Adrien's photoshoots, I think. I get nervous about him thinking that I'm following him and then I act strange." She set her shoulders in a decidedly _Ladybug_ stance. "That's going to stop right now."

It was going to be hard to change her Adrien mindset after being 'in love' with him for so long. But Bridgette's parting words stuck in her mind.

 _Do you really want to miss out on a friendship with a great guy just because you have a crush on who you think he is?_

 _No. No, I definitely don't._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I know some people might not be thrilled that I decided to focus on the spoiled brat of the show, but Epiphanies has always basically been me trying to reach through the screen and trying to slap a bit of sense into some of the characters, and Chloe DEFINITELY_ _needs that slap. That girl is ridiculous._

* * *

It started, as most things in Paris did nowadays, with an akuma.

Rose Glasses was not a flashy akuma by any means, nor was she particularly destructive or dangerous to the majority of Paris. She struck in the evening, slinking through the shadows of the city in search of people oblivious to the world around them. It was an unusual target to have, but once the dust settled, Ladybug and Chat Noir had learned that the akuma victim had a sister who was being scammed by her boyfriend and who was missing all of the obvious signs. The victim and her sister had recently had a fight about just that, and the sister had scoffed when accused of seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses. Hawkmoth had struck only seconds after the victim hung up the phone.

But that didn't matter, not really. All akumas started like that: angry, upset, emotional. Rose Glasses was no different in that way. Not all akuma were super-flashy and dangerous either; some flew under the radar for a surprisingly long time before surfacing.

But none were _quite_ like Rose Glasses.

Rose Glasses had headed to the Mayor's hotel as soon as she had finished her visit to her sister. She had landed on Chloe's balcony while the girl was reading the most recent fashion magazine on her chaise and had proceeded to storm right in. Chloe hadn't been remotely worried by the supervillain's sudden appearance- and why should she? Akumas had threatened her before, time and time again, but Ladybug and Chat Noir never let then harm her- and she had said as much. The akuma only laughed, colder and crueler than Chloe's own laugh.

"You are _blind_ to the world around you," Rose Glasses crooned with a smirk playing at the edges of her lips. She sneered at Chloe. "Oblivious child, thinking you are the darling of Paris when the world hates you."

Chloe had bristled at that. A lot of akumas had said the same thing, claiming that they hated her, that she was responsible for their akumatization and that she was an awful person. It was all lies, obviously. Akumas often said that they hated Ladybug and Chat Noir, but how often was that true? Hawkmoth was just twisting their perception so that they _thought_ that they hated her. People were just jealous that she was rich and the daughter of the mayor, so they tried to make their pathetic selves feel better by insulting her. That was what her father had told her when she was little right after a visiting musician's son had made her cry by calling her a crybaby and a whiny brat, and that was obviously why she was the target of so many akuma attacks.

 _Obviously_.

Chloe had said something in response, but she couldn't remember anything after that. Rose Glasses had struck her with the staff she had been carrying, sending Chloe into lucid dreams- or rather, lucid _nightmares_. She was lost in a fantasy world where people hated her, where Sabrina would leave her for the first friendly face that came along, where people in their class rolled their eyes behind her back and groaned when she was involved in things, where when she decided not to be in their _stupid_ class photo in the park, they all breathed a sigh of relief instead of being saddened that she, the darling of Paris, wasn't there.

A world where her first friend drifted away as soon as there were other people there for him to be friends with.

Chloe was stuck there in her dreams, watching day-to-day events that had actually happened in the past, but here they were just a little different. Her eyes were drawn to the subtly annoyed expressions of the people talking to her, the eye-rolls and hushed conversations going on behind her back. She could _feel_ the annoyance of the people talking to her, even when they put on a neutral face. Worst of all, she was being forced to believe them when they said they hated her.

Lies. _Everybody_ loved her! But the dreams didn't let her think that, didn't let her sniff and turn her back on the idiots that claimed not to like her. It shook Chloe more than she would ever admit.

It took Chloe's father almost four hours to find her, since it was late at night and Rose Glasses had turned off the lights in Chloe's room before taking off so that it would look like she was just sleeping. It wasn't until her butler heard her nightmare-induced cries- _how embarrassing!-_ and couldn't wake her up that anyone knew something was wrong. After that, it only took half an hour for the Mayor to raise enough of a hullabaloo to get Ladybug and Chat Noir's attention, even though it was the middle of the night. The superheroes came in to investigate (Ladybug saw her _asleep_ and _messy_ , Chloe was going to _end_ Hawkmoth if she ever found out who he was) before heading back out to find the akuma.

All things considered, it hadn't taken Ladybug and Chat Noir much time to take Rose Glasses down once they knew what to look for. Ladybug's Miraculous Cure spiraled across the city, releasing dozens of people from their nightmares and cleaning up the small amount of damage their fight had actually caused.

But the ladybugs didn't get rid of the lingering memories from the dreams. Chloe remembered _everything_ from the false dream world- all the judging stares, all of the eye rolls, all of the barely-concealed annoyance and exasperation aimed at _her_. It was annoying, since Chloe knew perfectly well that it wasn't _real_. The akuma was meant to make people feel bad about themselves, to doubt the world around them. Rose Glasses' dream world was a cruel made-up one that was nothing like reality. She was just a random victim, of that Chloe was certain.

And then she saw how _other_ people responded to Rose Glasses' powers.

Ladybug had been hit by a glancing blow from Rose Glasses' staff during their fight, and the superheroine had only wavered for a second, starting to topple over before being caught by Chat Noir. She had woken back up immediately, leading to the theory that the more a person was oblivious to the world around them, the deeper a sleep Rose Glasses' powers sent them into.

Chloe could barely believe that when she saw the coverage of the fight later. She was still trying to deny the deep-seated, sick feelings the akuma had stirred up and that the Miraculous Cure hadn't gotten rid of, and seeing Ladybug so unaffected by the akuma that had thrown her for a loop. Chloe had wanted to believe that the akuma was lying, that she _wasn't_ seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, that her classmates and most of Paris _didn't_ dislike her. But _something_ was obviously different between herself and the heroes.

"It's the suit," Chloe told the empty room as she slammed her computer shut and shoved her chair away from the table. "Ladybug wasn't affected because she has her supersuit. Her Miraculous protected her."

 _That's not true,_ the taunting voice that had taken up residence in Chloe's mind ever since the attack said. _Ladybug and Chat Noir have been affected by akumas before. Chat Noir was affected by Princess Fragrance, and the Puppeteer, and Dark Cupid. Why would Rose Glasses be any different?_

 _Akumas are all different,_ Chloe argued back. _Just because they got affected by one thing doesn't mean that it'll be the same for all of them. Besides, Ladybug hasn't been affected by any other akuma before. She's the better superhero; she probably has more power to protect her._

Still, the uncomfortable feeling in her gut got stronger.

It was yet another blow to Chloe's wavering confidence when footage showed up of random civilians getting hit by Rose Glasses' staff as Ladybug and Chat Noir deflected it. Most woke up as soon as their face hit the pavement, which meant that they hadn't been in that deep of a sleep. That only strengthened the theory about how the akuma's powers worked, the news reports claimed; the average person wasn't terribly disillusioned about their lives, so they wouldn't be all that affected. Their dreams would be light, in comparison to the deep nightmares that people like Chloe had fallen into.

Chloe scowled and tried to ignore the footage. Maybe those other people weren't as affected because they had only been hit by glancing blows instead of direct hits, like she had gotten. Maybe it was because Rose Glasses hadn't been paying attention to their insignificant selves. There were _plenty_ of reasons why there might have been a difference between Rose Glasses' targeted victims and her accidental ones. Still, it was infuriating that she, the daughter of the mayor of Paris, would be more affected by an akuma than an average person off of the streets. She was not _average_ , so therefore she should have been less affected. It was just the way the world was supposed to work.

Her brain, it seemed, had not gotten the memo. It was still dwelling on the images Rose Glasses had created, wondering how accurate they were even though Chloe knew that they _weren't_ , so why waste the time and energy worrying about it? It was stupid.

Still, as Chloe stepped out of her limo on Monday morning, she couldn't help but remember the oh-so-vivid dreams. Most of her nightmares had been set at the school, with the same classmates she saw every day and who were _supposed_ to look up to her and be jealous of her. The dreams had claimed that that wasn't the truth, that most of them disliked her instead and wished she was in another class, far away from them. They didn't _want_ to invite her to class events, but instead only invited her because of the ever-present threat of the Mayor using his influence to expel them if they didn't.

All of a sudden, Chloe felt sick. Her hand tightened on the car door as she looked around at the other students milling around the building, talking to their friends and waiting for school to start. Instead of seeing classmates that would gladly scramble to get fashion advice from her, she saw people who didn't care about her opinion and didn't want her advice. She saw people who loathed her, and not because they were jealous.

And the worse part was that now she couldn't unsee it.

Chloe hurriedly got back in the car and shut the door, fighting to keep her expression aloof and haughty. Even if it felt like her world was getting shaken at its foundations, there was no reason to show it. She was certain that she would get past this soon enough, after all. She was _Chloe Bourgeois_. She didn't show weaknesses.

"Take me back to the hotel," Chloe ordered the driver. "I'm suddenly feeling unwell and won't be able to attend classes today."

Her driver nodded obediently and started the car back up without any questions, pulling away from the school's curb and back into traffic as they headed back towards the Grand Paris. Chloe stared straight ahead at the headrest in front of her so she wouldn't have to see the curious stares that her classmates were no doubt giving the car as it left the school with its passenger still inside. Sabrina would no doubt be flooding her phone with questions shortly, but it didn't matter. Her friend could be appeased by the same lie Chloe had told her driver and would have to tell her father as soon as she stepped back into the hotel.

As the driver pulled up to the front door of the hotel, Chloe couldn't help but wonder what _he_ thought of her. It wasn't that she _cared-_ it wasn't like his opinion mattered or anything, he was just the hired help- but she wondered all the same, just for a moment. And then she stopped, because it was a waste of time and really, _she didn't care_.

 _Really_.

By the time Tuesday rolled around, Chloe had managed to wrestle the sick feelings of doubt under control enough to attend school. Sabrina fussed over her, of course, and Adrien looked a bit concerned, though he didn't ask her how she was doing like he _should_ have.

Chloe scowled and turned her back on her former friend. What did she care if he was stupid and had forgotten his manners since he had started to hang out with that DJ? He would come to his senses soon enough and remember that having _her_ as a friend would get him connected to the right people. After all, it had been _Chloe_ that had introduced him to Jagged Stone when he stayed at her father's hotel- or, rather, she had _tried._ The akuma attack had screwed up her plans more than a little bit, and then the rock star had been too busy to oblige her requests. She _had_ tried to introduce Adrien to XY after that, but the model hadn't been interested. Adrien clearly didn't have the same great taste in music that Chloe did, despite all of her attempts to convert him.

 _Hhmph_. See if she bothered to invite him to exclusive meetings with international celebrities anymore if he was just going to be all distant the rest of the time.

Chloe didn't let her eyes wander from the front of the room during class. It was stupid, she _knew_ it was, because of _course_ people wouldn't be giving her irritated looks like they had in her dreams, but it was safer not to check. Besides, she would _look_ weird if she kept turning around during class, and then the stupid teacher would probably try to get her in trouble for not paying attention- it wasn't like it _mattered_ if she were paying attention or not, really, since Sabrina did all of her homework anyway, but Chloe supposed that the teacher probably wanted to at least _try_ not to look like she was obviously favoring her.

It was going to be a good day, Chloe could just feel it. Maybe she would even get a hold of Ladybug and get this whole problem cleared up before ii started affecting her life.

* * *

"Ladybug, wait up!" Chloe ordered as she raced across the lobby of her father's hotel. She had been waiting _all week_ for an akuma attack to happen close enough to her that she could get Ladybug's attention, and now that the superheroes were standing in the lobby of the Grand Paris, she was _not_ going to let them leave before she could speak with them. Especially when the nightmares showed no signs of ceasing any time soon. "I need to talk to you about something!"

Both heroes paused, turning in near-unison to face Chloe as she skidded to a mostly dignified halt in front of them. They both had slightly apprehensive looks on their faces, which Chloe decided to interpret as worry about their Miraculous timing out and not in response to her presence. She was sure that if their transformations didn't have time limits, they would have looked thrilled to see her because really, who _wouldn't_ want to talk to her? She wasn't going to let one stupid akuma make her doubt herself.

"Your Miraculous Cure after Rose Glasses didn't work right," Chloe informed Ladybug as she planted a hand on her hip and tossed her hair over her shoulder. She wanted to cut right to the chase before Ladybug could make up her excuses about her beeping Miraculous earrings and go. "I thought you should know."

Ladybug blinked at her, clearly puzzled. "But you're awake."

Chloe huffed at that. _Well,_ _ **duh**_. _That_ was obvious to anyone with eyes. "But I remember all of the _awful_ dreams that Rose Glasses forced me to have. Your Miraculous Cure didn't get rid of them."

Ladybug's eyes widened at that and she exchanged a quick look with Chat Noir. Chloe bristled a little at that- she didn't want their sympathy, she just wanted the dreams to go away and stop messing with her head- but she held her tongue, not wanting to accidentally upset the superheroes who could get her back to normal.

"Miraculous Cure has never gotten rid of people's memories of akuma attacks, Chloe," Ladybug said slowly, clearly picking her words carefully. "And the dreams Rose Glasses caused would fall under the category of _memories_ , I'm afraid. I'm sorry, Chloe."

Chloe's heart dropped and her stomach filled with dread. She had never considered _this_ as a possible outcome to her conversation with Ladybug. In her mind, their impromptu meeting would finish with Ladybug apologizing profusely for the inconvenience her faulty Lucky Charm had caused, followed by her casting a second Lucky Charm and Miraculous Cure for the sole purpose of ridding Chloe's head of Rose Glasses' nightmares. Ladybug might even agree to join Chloe for dinner or on a shopping spree to help apologize.

Clearly that wasn't going to happen.

Chloe wiped all evidence of her disappointment off of her face as she forced her regular disinterested expression into place. It wouldn't do to look like a distraught child in front of her idol. "Oh. Well. Uh." She swallowed hard, trying to keep her composure. "I see."

"I really am sorry, Chloe," Ladybug offered, still looking concerned. "If the dreams keep bothering you, maybe you should talk to someone-"

"I'm fine," Chloe snapped immediately. "They're a minor inconvenience, that's all. You don't need to be worried about me getting all upset over them or anything." She swallowed hard again. "They're just _stupid_ dreams caused by a _stupid_ akuma."

She'd be _fine_. She was Chloe Bourgeois, after all.

* * *

Chloe was pretty much the absolute _last_ person Marinette ever thought she would be sorry for. The other girl was spoiled, petty, cruel and an all-around brat who refused to acknowledge the problems she caused. She had akumatized more people than Marinette could count- she had lost track after fifteen, and that had been _months_ ago- and she often complained about how long it had taken when Ladybug and Chat Noir saved her from the akumas that _she_ had created.

But the nightmares from Rose Glasses had clearly had a huge impact on her, if the bags that she was barely keeping hidden under her eyes were any indication. Chloe might have tried to play it cool in front of Ladybug, but clearly she was still feeling more than a little affected by the nightmares. There was nothing Ladybug could do- Tikki had confirmed that when Marinette asked- and Marinette couldn't think of what she _could_ do as herself.

Still, she couldn't stand to see people suffer. Even if that person was pretty much her worst (civilian) enemy.

"So she's getting nightmares because she's worried that her dreams are reality," Marinette said, frowning as she stared blankly out of her room's window. Tikki perched on the sill, nibbling at a cookie and watching as Marinette thought. "Which is unfortunate, because people really _don't_ like her that much."

"Mari _nette_..."

"It's not like it's without reason!" Marinette protested, eyes snapping back to Tikki as she refocused her gaze and frowned. "She's cruel to everyone and she refuses to acknowledge that she's in the wrong! She got Alya _suspended_ for just peeking in her locker that one time, and she tore up Rose's letter to Prince Ali, and-"

"Perhaps she wouldn't have the nightmares if she grew as a person," Tikki suggested, cutting Marinette off before she could really get rolling on the (very extensive) list of awful things Chloe had done. "You could guide her in the right direction, maybe. You can be persuasive."

"I can be persuasive when people are open to listening." Marinette sighed and slumped into her chair, perching her chin on her fist as she thought about Tikki's suggestion. "But I mean, I guess I _have_ gotten Chloe to do things I wanted her to do in the past."

"No phone-stealing," Tikki warned immediately. Marinette had to laugh.

"No, that wasn't what I was thinking of. When the class made the monster movie, I got Chloe to leave the room- by telling her what she wanted to hear! So I need to work _with_ her, not against." Marinette had gone straight into Ladybug mode. "I shouldn't be _completely_ redirecting her, just maybe seeing if I can get her to not be so cruel."

Tikki blinked up at her. "And how are you going to do that?"

"I'll find an opening somehow." Marinette frowned again, deep in thought as she absently spun around in the chair. "I just have to keep my eyes open and think about it. Maybe something will come up."

* * *

Chloe sniffed in disdain as she inspected the outfits displayed in the lobby of the hotel. The fashion program at a nearby university were having their yearly display of outfits made by the students, and her father had been generous enough to offer up the hotel's lobby as a display area. Chloe was there now, inspecting the pieces up for show. Some of the dresses were decent enough, but others?

Some people were trying _way_ too hard to be original. Their outfits- if they could even be called that- were _awful_.

"God, that one is _ugly_ ," Chloe sneered at one particularly awful outfit. There was a twist in her gut when she received the increasingly familiar disgusted look that the designer sent her and behind her, her classmates were sending her similarly irritated looks. But she was _right._ The outfit was _awful_ and really, if the older girl honestly thought it was a good piece, she needed to reconsider her career. She should have used a different neckline if she wanted to keep all the details on the front of the dress, and she was clearly overcompensating with the sheer number of little tucks and folds worked into the design. Maybe it would have been all right if the assignment had been to show their technical skill. But it hadn't been- they were simply supposed to have designed something that represented them- so this kind of dress was simply unacceptable.

Next to her, Sabrina nodded loyally. "It's awful," she agreed.

"Really, people shouldn't go into fashion if they can't make things that look nice," Chloe sniffed, delighting in the feeling of being half-drunk on the thrill that she got when her words carried enough power to affect someone. It really _had_ been too long. The feeling only grew when the designer's expression crumpled and she dashed off, leaving her creation behind.

Really, Chloe was doing her a favor. The design was positively ugly and if it really was an accurate representation of the so-called designer's work, no sane woman would ever wear her clothing. It was better than the designer's dreams got dashed now, instead of letting her bankrupt herself producing awful designs that would never sell.

"You could have found a better way of saying that, Chloe," Marinette scolded as the fleeing designer's footsteps faded away.

Chloe rolled her eyes, her lofty thrill already fading away to annoyance. "No one asked _you_ , Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she sniffed, injecting as much haughtiness into her voice as she could. Much to her surprise, it wasn't coming as naturally as it used to. It had been too long,, she decided. She was out of practice. "And what, did you expect me to lie and say that her design is actually good?"

"Of course not." Marinette didn't even look bothered by the aggressiveness of Chloe's voice. "But you could say what specific parts you didn't like instead of outright saying the whole piece is trash."

Chloe snorted. "But it _was_ trash."

Much to her surprise, Marinette's lips twitched in- was that _amusement_? _Agreement?_ Impossible. "Generally it's considered bad manners to tell someone that to their face."

Chloe couldn't help blinking in surprise. Surely Marinette didn't _agree_ with her that the dress was ugly? Marinette would never say something like that. Maybe that was the whole point- Marinette might think that something was ugly, but she would never say it. She was too _timid_ to make her opinions known-

Except _timid_ didn't fit Marinette at all, not this year. Marinette had snapped back at Chloe plenty. The timid wallflower had finally grown a spine, it seemed, and Alya was to blame. Marinette had stood up to the principal and to teachers as well, so _that_ clearly wasn't the issue.

"Well, what would _you_ have said?" Chloe asked, making it sound like more of a challenge than a question. "Nothing at all, I bet, or maybe you would have said that the color was nice but not addressed the _fact_ that the design was _completely_ horrendous?"

"I would have said that I liked the color and that the pockets were a nice touch and I liked some of the details, but the design would have held up better with a woven fabric instead of a knit, and that the design would come through better with fewer tucks and pleats, and a different neckline would complement the details up top better. It's called constructive criticism," Marinette added, her voice sharp. "You might try it sometime. I would think that it would be something you would like. After all, it's telling other people what you think and then telling them how _you_ could do it better."

Seconds after Marinette finished speaking, the Fashionista burst into the room, turning people's clothing into her own ugly designs. The class scattered, fleeing out doors and under tables. Chloe _bolted._

She _really_ didn't need any more bad experiences with akuma. Not now.

Chloe was three rooms over and hiding in a closet full of designer outerwear by the time Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up. She didn't come out until the yells had died away and been replaced by cheering, and then she waited for five minutes more before leaving the room and heading back to the lobby. The fashion display had continued as normal, not at all thrown off by the sudden akuma attack or the battle that followed. Chloe could see her classmates milling around in the crowd from where she stood. The designer that had been akumatized was standing near her awful dress again. Marinette was talking to the woman, and...was that _Adrien_ standing behind her, nodding along and looking perfectly content, as though he wasn't standing close to one of the biggest offences to fashion Chloe had ever seen?

Chloe was one-hundred-percent certain that if Adrien's father was the one standing there, he would probably look as though a pile of steaming garbage had appeared under his nose. And rightfully so, the design was _completely_ unredeemable-

No, no, that wasn't actually true. Chloe had to admit that there was a halfway decent idea under all of the frills that dragged the dress down. And what was it that Marinette had said earlier? Tell people what she thought and then what she would have done that would make it a million times better? But why would she bother doing people how to do their job? They should know how to do it, or else risk being fired.

That was the way the world worked. You did your job and you did it correctly or you got fired. If she held other people's hands while they did their work, how would they ever learn?

Chloe turned around and stomped off. There was nothing in the room that was _deserving_ of her attention, after all. They were just students trying to sell their assignments while claiming the title of fashion designer.

Pft. If she wanted fashionable clothes, she'd ask a _real_ designer, not a wannabe.

Speaking of clothes...

It was reaching the end of winter, which meant that there would be spring fashion lines coming out soon and she would have to go shopping and order a few custom outfits. She couldn't keep her clothes from last year- it wouldn't do to have the mayor's daughter seen in last season's fashion, after all- so she would have to clean out her spring closet. There were a couple pieces that could probably pair well with pretty much anything and she might keep those, but the rest had to go. No old clothes for her!

Chloe shivered at the thought as she headed for her room. She was so, so glad that she didn't have to wear _really_ old clothes like Sabrina did. Sabrina's father got her all of her clothes as hand-me-downs from her cousins, who had already worn everything for several years before they outgrew the clothes and passed them on. They were so out of style that Chloe couldn't even figure out when they _had_ been in style- possibly never- and some were so awful that even the brooches Chloe heaped on Sabrina didn't help make her clothes look any better. A wide scarf would have been better, to hide the sweater-vests from sight. Maybe Chloe should suggest that. Sabrina would probably be _so_ thrilled to get her advice. Of course, Chloe would have to go along with Sabrina when she went shopping or Sabrina might pick out an ugly scarf. Even though Chloe had _tried_ to teach Sabrina how to pick out fashionable things from the store, her friend _still_ had trouble picking things out that would actually go with her red hair.

It was actually kind of terrifying how talented Sabrina was at finding the most hideous things in even the most high-end boutiques.

Maybe she could just give Sabrina one of her old scarves, Chloe thought once she had gotten to her room and was standing in front of her open closet. She had a couple that didn't go perfectly with her complexion, but she would hate to see them paired with those _awful_ sweater vests.

 _Ugh_. If only Sabrina's clothes were less ugly.

"What are you up to, princess?" Chloe's father stuck his head in her door and spotted her standing in front of her closet. "Did the akuma spill something on you? Did you tear something?"

"It's almost spring!" Chloe told him a bit impatiently. Really, he should _know_ by now that she needed to be redoing her wardrobe at this time of the year. In fact, he should have reminded her a full week ago so she could start investigating what the newest trends were. She adjusted her scarf, warm and fuzzy for the winter. "And all of this is last season. I can't wear it anymore."

Her father's slightly concerned expression cleared right away. "Oh! Of course, of course. I will call up the usual designers and set up some viewings so you can pick out some pieces. Are the boutiques showing spring pieces already?"

"No, not yet." They would start showing spring pieces in another week or so, and Chloe would do her shopping then.

"Are you cleaning out your spring closet, then?"

"Yes, papa." Chloe pulled out a couple blouses and tossed them to the side. "I can't wear something that's old. I'll just get rid of them."

"Of course, of course." Her father headed back in the door, then popped back in a moment later. "There's a student fashion presentation going on in the lobby, sweetheart, if you're interested."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "None of it is any good."

"Okay. I'll go call the designers. Have fun with your spring wardrobe cleaning."

Chloe rolled her eyes again as her father chuckled and vanished. He wasn't anywhere near as funny as he thought he was. Returning her attention to the closet, she pulled out a flouncy dress and tossed it over a chair. A scarf was draped over the dress's hanger, plain purple with a soft fringe. It would go well with Sabrina's hair, but it also went _fabulously_ with the dress and it would be a shame to separate the two. Chloe paused, thinking.

Keep the scarf with the dress...or give it to Sabrina?

With the dress...or to Sabrina?

If she sent it with the dress, she didn't _know_ if they would stay together. Some know-nothing worker at- well, at whatever place her father sent her old clothing- might divide the two up. On the other hand, if Chloe gave the scarf to Sabrina, it would just get paired with some awful old thing of her cousin's.

...of course, she _could_ just give Sabrina both the dress and the scarf. It wouldn't look half bad, and then Chloe wouldn't have to look at plaid sweater vests day in and day out. Sabrina would no doubt treasure the dress because it was _Chloe_ that gave it to her, so she would wear it as often as possible.

Actually, why not just pass on _everything_ to Sabrina? Chloe was just going to get rid of everything anyway. Normally she didn't do _charity_ , but _really_. Sabrina's cousins' taste in clothing was a disaster zone if she ever saw one. Whenever someone happened to take a photo of the two of them out and about, Sabrina's awful clothing always brought the whole thing down. It really was embarrassing for her to keep such company.

Chloe frowned and looked at her closet. She couldn't give _everything_ to Sabrina, of course- she had a lot of yellow shirts and dresses, which went well with Chloe's blonde hair but would clash with Sabrina's reddish-orange hair- but considering how many outfits Chloe had, there were plenty that were more redhead-friendly. Sabrina would still probably be able to ditch the decades-old hand-me-downs.

Chloe couldn't help the smile on her face at the thought of how her friend would react. There would be _thank you Chloe_ s and _you're so great_ s and endless fawning. It would be the perfect remedy to her recent troubles.

She couldn't wait.

* * *

"Oh, these don't fit you properly at all," Chloe said in disgust as Sabrina modeled the first dress for her. Her friend's figure was nowhere near as nice as her own, and it showed from where the dress hung a little too loosely. It threw off the entire composition of the dress, making the designer threads look more like something off a department store rack. "That's not going to work."

Sabrina looked almost frightened, for some reason, and she clutched the skirt of the dress in her fists. "They fit all right! I'll grow into them."

Chloe shook her head in disgust. Didn't Sabrina know _anything?_ If the dress was too long maybe she would grow into it, but the real problem was the way that Sabrina's figure clashed with the fit of the dress "No you won't. It's fine length-wise, but it's too loose around the chest." She circled Sabina again, looking her up and down with a trained eye. "I'll call in my tailor. Lucky everything is loose on you instead of pulling tight, or it would be harder to fix. And don't hold the skirt like that, you'll make it all wrinkly."

Sabrina promptly let go of the skirt. It swished back into place against her legs. "Y-your tailor?"

Chloe didn't get why Sabrina seemed surprised. It was normal to have a tailor come in and alter pieces until they sat perfectly when she got new clothing. It wasn't just her either, Chloe knew that. Adrien's clothes were all tailored to fit his measurements exactly. Marinette's clothes looked like she had them made to fit her specifically- or she altered them herself, more likely. It was just something that was _done_.

"Daddy will pay for him to come in and alter everything for you," Chloe said, already reaching for her phone to send a text to her father. He would set everything up for her. "Take the dress back up and hang it up. There's no point in trying on the other things if this one doesn't fit."

"I don't mind them not fitting-" Sabrina started earnestly. Chloe cut her off with a scoff. She _knew_ Sabrina didn't mind if things didn't fit right. She was always wearing things that were stretched a little too much in the wrong places.

"These are _designer_ ," Chloe pointed out, for what felt like the millionth time. "You can't wear designer clothes that don't fit right, it'll make them look like cheap department store clearance rack clothes. Don't you know _anything?_ "

"Y-you know much more about designer things than I do, Chloe," Sabrina said immediately, turning a bit pink. "I g-guess I thought that clothes were meant to fit like this, since that's what I've always had. Thank you for all of the nice things! I've never had anything so fancy before."

"Of course you haven't." Most people didn't. They couldn't afford the designers that Chloe's father hired. Still, Chloe paused. "And...you're welcome."

* * *

As Chloe had predicted, Sabrina absolutely _loved_ her gifts. She wore the clothes Chloe had given her every day, matching tops and bottoms remarkably well.

(Chloe had given her a style sheet with strict instructions not to deviate from the planned outfits pictured in it. As always, Sabrina trusted Chloe's fashion advice without a question.)

It was a nice feeling, Chloe thought as she watched Sabrina smooth down the front of the cream-colored blouse Chloe had given her. She had given Sabrina some advice and Sabrina had followed it. Chloe felt appreciated, wanted, a role model. She had done what Marinette suggested, in a way. Instead of making fun of Sabrina's awful clothing, she had steered her friend in the right direction. It definitely had produced _much_ better results than when she simply scoffed over whatever Sabrina was wearing.

 _Huh_. She hadn't ever thought that she would be taking advice from _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_ , of all people. Normally she would rather swallow nails, but she supposed that even people like her dark-haired classmate had decent ideas from time to time.

A month and a half after Rose Glasses was defeated, Chloe arrived at school to find everyone fawning over the dress Marinette was wearing. The other girl spun, making the skirt flare, and everyone _oooh_ ed. Chloe headed over to investigate.

"That looks great, Marinette!" Rose squealed as the skirt settled back around Marinette's legs. "It's so pretty!"

Chloe, much to her annoyance, couldn't disagree. Marinette had clearly been experimenting with the origami folding that was fast becoming the season's top new trend, and she had actually managed to use it in a new way that looked pretty good. The dress accented her slight figure well, and the fabric choice had been- to Chloe's eye, at least- good for the techniques Marinette used. Still, it could have been executed better. The origami folds were all right, but they weren't _quite_ perfect. Marinette had probably learned how to do it off of internet tutorials, which was the best she could do with her resources, but it meant less than superior techniques. A proper designer could do better.

Of course, most of her classmates didn't know any better. They didn't have Chloe's eye for good designer clothing, so of course they wouldn't be able to see the imperfections. And of course, they weren't paying any attention to Chloe's _actual_ designer outfit, even though it was executed perfectly and even contained a couple of the origami folds that they were so enraptured by.

By all rights, she should be the one having people cooing over her outfit. It looked fabulous. But instead, they were cooing over Marinette's arts and crafts project.

Chloe's hands twitched around the latte she had been carrying. She _could_ get the attention back on her, she knew she could. One "trip" over someone's foot and Marinette's fancy cherry-red dress would be half brown. It was probably the kind of dress that would need to be hand washed, and scrubbing at stains too roughly would probably destroy the stitches holding the design in place. Marinette would have to go home to change into something boring, and then the only truly stunning outfit left in class would be Chloe's. For a moment, she was tempted.

All of a sudden, her mind filled with the faces her classmates would make at her if she accidentally spilled her coffee on Marinette. Faces that would be disgusted with her, furious with her, hate her...

Chloe quickly drank up the rest of her latte in one gulp and tossed her empty cup aside before joining the crowd around Marinette. She felt a quick jolt of annoyance when she noticed Adrien among her other classmates, his attention entirely on Marinette. He of all people should be noticing the less-than-sharp folds and minutely crooked lines of the origami. The mistakes weren't obvious, of course- Marinette wouldn't wear something that had glaring problems with it- but Adrien should have a trained enough eye to be able to spot stuff like that.

Still, if he was noticing the problems, Adrien wasn't letting it show. He looked _impressed_. That simply wouldn't do.

Chloe marched forward, drawing attention away from Marinette and to herself instead. People parted for her almost automatically and she came to a stop in front of Marinette. The other girl straightened, drawing up to her full height.

"You actually tried making an origami dress?"

"Yes, I did," Marinette said primly, spinning around and making her skirt flare out in response. It didn't show nearly as much as movement as Chloe's designer dress did. "I had to redesign it three times before I found a way to make it stand like I wanted it to, but it finally worked."

"It's not bad," Chloe admitted, the words bitter on her tongue. "It's a bit advanced for your skill level, though, don't you think? Your folds are sloppy" _There_. That was better.

"I wanted to experiment with texture," Marinette said defensively, smoothing down a fold that wasn't tacked down quite as well as the others. "I'll fix the little mistakes later, but I wanted to try wearing it first."

"You would wear something _unfinished?_ " That was a ridiculous concept. Clothes were supposed to be kept under wraps during the design process and only trotted out once all of the mistakes were fixed and everything was perfect. Otherwise, the designs just wouldn't have the same impact when they were finished. If Marinette had been around _real_ designers, she would know that.

Clearly she _didn't_ know that. Marinette remained unfazed. "I wanted to see if the folds got in my way at all during a normal day. They make the piece stiffer and the only way to see if they would annoy me at all is to wear the dress. I like it."

"So do I," Rose piped up, and murmurs of agreement went around the little group. Chloe snorted. Clearly none of them knew _anything_ about the design process. And apparently that extended to Adrien as well, because he was _definitely_ nodding in agreement.

 _Ugh_.

"Well, if you _really_ want to give away your design before it's executed properly, I guess that's your call," Chloe finally acquiesced, shrugging. "It just takes away the impact of the final piece if you ask me, but if you really don't care, it's no skin off of my nose." She glanced down at Marinette's dress again- there was really a fabulous pattern going on there, even if it was muddled a little by folds not quite tacked down correctly- and couldn't resist a small dig. "Although maybe that's what the final piece will look like. Only _master_ designers would be able to do those folds correctly, and you clearly didn't."

There were a few hisses at her words and Alya stepped forward with a furious look on her face. But Chloe wasn't _quite_ finished yet.

"So I'll have Daddy send my designer over to teach you sometime so it doesn't look like a mess."

Raised eyebrows and surprised looks dominated the group around them. Chloe ignored them, just like she ignored Alya's suspicious, narrow-eyed gaze. She kept her eyes on Marinette.

Marinette looked startled by the offer, but gave a wary nod of thanks anyway. "Thank you, Chloe."

"And if you make any sunhats with that kind of design, I want one. In yellow, if you could. Daddy would pay you for it."

With that, Chloe turned and trotted off across the courtyard to where Sabrina was waiting for her, not waiting to see her classmates' reactions. It was the closest that she would come to admitting that Marinette's designs were actually pretty good. She wasn't going to shower her classmate in compliments like the other ninnies in her class. Chloe didn't _do_ gushing over other people.

"Isn't her dress _awful?_ " Sabrina said as soon as Chloe joined her. "All of those folds!"

"You have no eye for fashion," Chloe snapped immediately. "It's a nice dress in concept. She just doesn't have the skills to execute it correctly. I'm sending my best designer her way to teach her."

Sabrina looked stunned. "B-but it's _Marinette!_ "

"And she's won several design competitions so far. Clearly she's doing something right." Chloe paused for a moment, considering, and then added, "And if she somehow becomes a top designer in Paris, I'll be able to say that I helped her get there. It's not likely, but it's important to make those connections now. You should know that by now, Sabrina."

Sabrina ducked her head and an embarrassed flush spread up her neck. "Of course, Chloe."

Chloe sniffed instead of acknowledging her friend's words. After a moment, though, she relented just a bit. It wasn't Sabrina's fault that she lived in a family that clearly paid zero mind to fashion and hadn't exposed her to clothes that actually looked _good_. Her perception of fashion just still needed a bit of guidance. Guidance that Chloe was more than willing to provide, since Sabrina hung on her every word and, Chloe had to admit, at least _tried_ to remember most of what Chloe told her. "By the way, you look nice today."

Sabrina perked up, smoothing down the skirt on the green dress she was wearing. "Thank you, Chloe!"

Chloe didn't say _you're welcome_. It wasn't a phrase that frequently popped up in her vocabulary. But the small smile that slid across her face said it for her.

* * *

A month later, a sunshine-yellow sunhat appeared in Chloe's room. The origami pleats were crisp and neat, and spiraled outward in a similar but slightly modified version of the pattern that Marinette had used on her dress. The color matched Chloe's new favorite summer sundress exactly, and the metallic thread used as an accent added an intriguing sparkle to the hat. Chloe inspected it with a small, pleased smile on her face, then arranged it on her head carefully. A pair of designer sunglasses completed the look, and then she headed out to join the rest of her class at the park. As she closed the door to her room and turned to head down the stair, Chloe realized that something had been different over the past few days. It took her a moment to put her finger on what it was but when she did, her eyes widened.

The nightmares that had once plagued her nightly had finally vanished.

* * *

 _A/N: After forever (whoops), this is finally finished! It is possible that I'll come up with more ideas after another season or two of the show (aka I'll want to reach through the screen and slap some sense into some of the characters about something new), but for now this is it._

 _Please leave reviews, they really make my day! :)_


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